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The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 7:50 a.m., Friday, November 30, 2007

Hawaii woman honored for providing AIDS services

News Release

HONOLULU – The Hawai'i Department of Health STD/AIDS Prevention Branch has named Ruth Antone as the 2007 recipient of the 4th Annual Suzanne Richmond-Crum Award, an honor that recognizes individuals for providing outstanding contributions in HIV/AIDS services in Hawai'i. The award will be presented to Antone at a World AIDS Day event, from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa Art Auditorium. The public is invited to attend the ceremony.

Antone has worked in the area of HIV/AIDS-related services in Hawai'i for approximately 20 years. In 1987, she was hired by The Life Foundation, the state's largest HIV/AIDS service agency, to provide services to persons with HIV/AIDS. There, she helped develop the agency's case management model. She then became The Life Foundation's second client services director, helping the Foundation's HIV-positive clients receive medical, dental, legal and other support services.

From 1990 to 2005, Antone worked at the AIDS Education Project, providing education and training about HIV/AIDS to health care professionals statewide. Antone currently serves as program director at Gregory House, the only HIV-designated shelter in the State of Hawai'i.

In addition to her professional work, Antone has also been an active volunteer in the field of HIV/AIDS. She has served as a board member and president for the People With AIDS Coalition, was a member of Hawai'i CARES, a community-based group that makes recommendations on HIV care services, and is now a member of the Hawai'i HIV Community Planning Group, a task force that plans integrated prevention and care services for individuals with HIV/AIDS.

The annual Suzanne Richmond-Crum Award is named after the former director of the Hawai'i Seropositivity and Medical Management Program (HSPAMM), an HIV/AIDS medical care program that is part of the Hawai'i State Department of Health STD/AIDS Prevention Branch.

Antone earned the 2007 award after demonstrating more than 20 years of courage, commitment, compassion and service to Hawai'i residents with HIV/AIDS. On Dec. 31, she will retire from Gregory House Programs.

World AIDS Day will also include many O'ahu-based events and Neighbor Island activities. For additional information, go to www.worldaidsdayHawaii.org .